Quick update on Braden Wells.... I spoke with him last night, and he told me that his face is feeling better after being rocked by a pitch earlier in the week. Here's what he had to say.

It's swollen and has left some seam marks on my cheek, but ya, I'm fine to play so i wont be missing any games. Its probably one of the craziest pics i have ever seen. talk about good timing.

I would send pics, but the scabs all fell off so it does not really look like anything is wrong anymore. Its just tender to touch on the cheek bone but you can not physically tell anything happened anymore.

Despite dropping their last two games to Gonzaga, the Beavers are still in the thick of things if you're looking at the playoff picture. They head up to Washington State this weekend to face those dastardly Cougars

Spring recap: Stroughter, who missed last season, looks every bit like the guy who amassed 1,293 yards in 2006. The offensive line has been depleted by injuries. Juco transfer Stephen Paea (DT) and LB Keaton Kristick have stood out on the defensive front.

While I'm confident that the Beavers have the kind of talent to compete at that level, I'm shocked that the national media is giving them this much love this early.They're gonna have to live up to it. Also, not only is it nice to see the Beavers are being well respected, but they are also being given a higher ranking than our rivals to the south (the Ducks come in at No. 20).

Cliff Kirkpatrick is starting to get a hang of the whole blogging thing, and it shows in his most recent post. In his latest entry, he talks about Jacquizz Rodgers getting some carries at the tail back position as the team moves into training camp and then offers a little bit of humor and insight about what it's like for these guys to be covering the team. Here's what he had to say.

{OSU President Ed Ray} ... ripped the media with a passing remark in his talk. He described us as knuckleheads saying things about them in our armchairs and don't know anything. First of all, I don't have an armchair.

So the Oregonian's Paul Buker and I wondered which one of us he was referring to. He brought it up again later in his speech, so it might have been one shot for each of us.

I also really enjoyed the part about Moevao and some of his other teammates trying to bleach their hair. C'mon Lyle, that's like so 1994.

Scout.comKenyan Keynan Parker

Kenyan Parker Keynan Parker is fast. You may remember his name from national letter of intent signing day when the Beavers inked the speedy Canadian who hails from Vancouver. However, you may not have known that Keynan was in town last week with his high school track team (St. Thomas More) to take part in the 2008 Centennial Invitational. Big thanks go out to luvbeavs who pointed out the fact that Keynan was competing in the 100m and 200m dash events. He was clocked at 21.98 in the 200m dash and that was good enough to get him a third place finish, but he did better in the 100m dash where he came in 2nd. It's too bad that there was a clock malfunction in the booth, because his official time for that race wasn't recorded. If you want to watch Keynan compete in the race, you can do so in the High School Sports blog.

You have to love the OSU band. Here's a clip of their trip to the 2008 Exhibition of the Bands. Enjoy the Beaver edition of Louie, Louie... Although, I have to ask... Where's the Beaver band belly?